California Debt Clock

State government debt: $166,390,802,000

Official, fiscal year-end Jun 30, 2024 · US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) (California, Government type 'State', items LF0231 Total, LF0233 Long-term and LF0232 Short-term Debt Outstanding, survey year 2024; amounts published in $1,000)

All debt of the California state government as Census defines it: long-term and short-term debt of the state and its dependent agencies, whatever the source of repayment. Census uses the same definition for every state.

Local government debt: $430,810,688,000

Official, fiscal year-end Jun 30, 2024 · US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) (California, Government type 'Local', items LF0231 Total, LF0233 Long-term and LF0232 Short-term Debt Outstanding, survey year 2024; amounts published in $1,000)

All debt of California's counties, cities, towns, school districts and special districts, on the same Census definition. Census estimates local totals from a sample of local governments in most years (2022 was a full count, the Census of Governments); coefficient of variation for 2024: 0.72%.

By year (official)

State's own report: state bonds: $102,232,832,000

Official, fiscal year-end Jun 30, 2025 · California State Controller, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report FY2025, Note 10 Table 13 Schedule of Changes in Long-term Obligations (Note 10, Table 13, printed pages 115–116 (PDF pages 134–135); amounts in thousands)

Voter-approved bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the State, principal outstanding (governmental $71.87B + business-type $0.90B). Excludes unamortized premiums. Bonds repaid from specific revenues (lease payments, water and power charges, university fees and similar), principal outstanding (governmental $14.99B + business-type $14.48B). Excludes unamortized premiums.

The live number = latest official total + (last year's official change per second × seconds since that total). The Census Bureau publishes California's state + local debt once a year, not daily, so this is a projection between annual reports, not an official figure.

projected = 597,201,490,000 + 510.9217 × (seconds since Jun 30, 2024 11:59:59 PM CT)

The rate is each part's official change over its latest year, added up: state debt $166,390,802,000 − $162,000,792,000 = $4,390,010,000; local debt $430,810,688,000 − $419,044,129,000 = $11,766,559,000; combined $16,156,569,000 over 366 days = $510.92 per second. The actual path is lumpy (bonds are sold in batches and repaid on schedules), so the projection will drift; when new annual reports come out, the clock re-bases to the new official figures.

How often it's published. Annual. The Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances comes out about two years after the fiscal year (survey year 2024: July 2026; survey year 2023: July 2025). The next Census figures, for survey year 2025, are expected around mid-2027, based on the last two release dates. The state's own report (shown as a secondary line) updates sooner.

Per Californian divides by the Census Bureau's estimate of 39,355,309 residents on Jul 1, 2025. It is not projected forward, so the live per-Californian figure rises only with the debt.

Note. Census publishes California's state + local total as $597.20 billion for 2024 (coefficient of variation 0.52%) and $581.04 billion for 2023. State + local here is exactly Census's state figure plus its local figure.

Note. Census's figures are the newest official state + local totals that use one definition for all 50 states, but they lag about two years, so the live clock projects from June 30, 2024. The state's own report (California State Controller, audited ACFR FY2025) is fresher but narrower; it is shown separately and never added. Census does not publish a reconciliation to state reports, so we do not itemize the gap.

Note. About the state's own figure: Figures are principal outstanding from Table 13. The ACFR's Debt Administration summary reports $112.6 billion of bonded debt, which includes unamortized bond premiums; we leave premiums out so the figure counts what the State has to repay at maturity.

Note. About the state's own figure: The State Treasurer's 2025 Debt Affordability Report counts $81.67 billion of General Fund-supported and self-liquidating GO and lease revenue bonds at June 30, 2025; it leaves out agency revenue bonds that the ACFR includes.

Note. About the state's own figure: Not included: local government debt; the University of California (reported as a discretely presented component unit); commercial paper and other short-term borrowings; conduit debt; leases; unfunded pension and retiree-health liabilities; and California's share of the federal debt.

Note. Not included: unfunded pension and retiree-health liabilities, and the state's share of the federal debt.

Note. California's fiscal year ends June 30. Census survey year 2024 covers each government's fiscal year that ended between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024; the clock dates it June 30, 2024, the end of that window.

Note. Figures from source tables may not add exactly because of rounding in the source.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) · Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 state population estimates (NST-EST2025) · California State Controller, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report FY2025, Note 10 Table 13 Schedule of Changes in Long-term Obligations · US Census Bureau, 2024 State & Local Government Finance Datasets and Tables (release page) · US Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of Local Government Finances methodology · Census data API download used for these figures (California)

Page built Oct 26, 2026 7:50 PM CT from the official figures above.